The Hanyou Prince
by x-xiaoxue
Summary: I soon realized that it was not so much the haunting of a spirit that locked me in the well-house, but the broken heart of a hanyou boy. - Inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's classic novella, The Little Prince.
1. Prologue

The Hanyou Prince

Prologue

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Before he died, my father always told me the same bedtime story when I was a child. Every night, I would ask him to read me something else: Cinderella, Rapunzel, or _anything_ as long as it did not include a pilot and a little prince. I begged and I begged, but my father would tell me the same thing.

"This book is very important to me, Kagome. And some day, you will see why." Of course, this was one of those things that goes ignored but proves to be extremely significant later on in life, but then you don't realize it until it actually happens. And then you have this big epiphany and suddenly all the pieces seem to fit into place.

As much as I hope to tell you that there is a twist in this story, there isn't.

My father attempted to teach me a very important life lesson when I was young, but I didn't understand it until just a few months ago. It's as simple as that. Only, my particular story is somewhat different. I was not stuck in a desert when a tiny boy dropped out of the sky and led me through a series of journeys that would prove to change my life forever. Instead, what I got stuck in was the little well-house just at the front of the shrine.

Who I met there did not come from an asteroid far far away, but instead he came from an era so different from ours. Although he was nothing like the little prince in my father's storybook, he proved to be _my_ prince. And although things did not exactly work out between us, I think that's okay.

So, please, just listen as I tell you this story—the same story my father tried to tell me. Except this time, I hope you'll understand it much sooner than I did. So here it is, my story. And here's how I'll start it.

His name was Inuyasha.

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END PROLOGUE

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**Notes: **With the exception of this prologue, which was a little over 300 words, each of the following chapters will be approximately 500 words in length.


	2. Chapter I

The Hanyou Prince

Chapter I

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His name was Inuyasha.

Of course, I don't know this for sure. Because when he told me this, he had this look on his face that said he didn't trust me. For all I know, his real name could be something entirely different. However, a part of me, the more emotional part of me, says that I knew his name even before he told me.

Souta sent me into the well-house to fetch the cat, only to realize that Buyo was snuggled nicely in his bed in the living room. When he tried to get me out, however, somehow the door locked. Creepy? Yeah sure, but when you live on a shrine, you grow accustomed to the things that could potentially be due to the haunting of a spirit. As usual, my little brother freaked out, saying that he'd call Mom and Gramps, try to figure out a way to get me out.

"Kikyou?" The sudden whisper should have sent chills down my spine, but instead it sounded warm and loving. I turned around to see the silhouette of a man sitting at the lip of the well. My normal reaction would be to open my mouth and scream at the top of my lungs, but when he emerged from the shadows, I was filled with awe instead.

...Gotcha, didn't I?

Sure, Inuyasha was one heck of a guy. I'm not one to gush over men that have six-packs and perfect skin... but Inuyasha had a six-pack and perfect skin. (Don't ask me how I know he has a six-pack.) Anyway, I scream like I was just attacked by a rapist or something. He winces and covers his ears, which I then notice are dog ears.

Dog ears.

My first instinct was to laugh, but I held that back. What if he got offended and sliced me to bits with his claws?

My eyes widened. _Claws?_ I decided right then and there that this was not cool. So I backed myself up against the door of the shrine, the same one my brother could not get opened no matter how hard he tried. The boy spoke again, reaching out to me and my heart began racing. Oh my gosh, I thought, I'm so dead!

"Kikyou, is that really you?" He inched closer, his fingers beginning to tremble. Then I saw something that I've only ever seen once in my entire life. It flickered across his eyes in an instant, and his expression softened. He whispered the name of that woman again, trying to (at least it seemed like it) to gather me in his arms but to no avail. He slumped to the floor before me, and although his shoulders shook with grief, I could not hear him cry. The boy tried to touch me again, "I should never have left you."

I soon realized that it was not so much the _haunting_ of a spirit that locked me in the well-house, but the broken heart of a hanyou boy.

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END CHAPTER ONE

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**Notes:** Thoughts? Comments?


	3. Chapter II

The Hanyou Prince

Chapter II

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I didn't understand.

"Of course you don't. You're technically not Kikyou." In the time that it took for him to recompose himself, he figured out that I wasn't the woman he had been waiting for—technically. Apparently I was her reincarnation, if you believe in such things. I had challenged him on this.

It was then that my notion of this boy changed. He gave me a dirty look and said, "Obviously she has something to do with you. She died here, on your shrine five hundred years ago. She's your freaking ancestor, you idiot." Some prince, right? But it gets better, I promise.

We sat in silence for another little while, and it felt like an eternity. I didn't even know what to do with myself. But before I could help myself, I began asking personal questions. How long was he lingering around the shrine? Why didn't Grandpa ever report seeing a dog-eared boy in the well-house? What had caused him to be stuck here?

Inuyasha looked at me with distaste, "You're nothing like her."

"Well, I'm sure that's for the best. I mean, wouldn't want you crying and everything now, would we?" I snapped back, insulted that he would compare me to a woman I had never even met. It's not like the whole set up was _my_ fault.

"I've been here about five hundred years," he said after another few moments. I almost choked on the breath I was taking. Five hundred years is a long-ass time! "Kikyou is the name of the priestess who guarded this village back then." And suddenly, Inuyasha became somewhat of an open book. Without even knowing it himself, he began telling me his story, painting pages of what he had seen and done in the past.

"Were you and Kikyou in love?" It wasn't hard to tell. The way he had so tragically collapsed when he first saw me was enough evidence. He didn't say anything in response to my question, but sometimes nothing needs to be said. "What happened?"

"I'm a hanyou. Half-demon. And because Kikyou could never turn her back on her duty as a priestess, I left." He had turned away from me at this point. I could not see his face, but I could hear the sorrow in his voice. My heart suddenly ached for his loss, and my inexperience with the realm of love.

"I'm sorry to hear that." There were still many questions unanswered, but I figured that he had told me enough for now. We sat in silence; Inuyasha was staring at the wall and I had about a million things popping in and out of my head. If Souta managed to get the door unlocked, would I never see Inuyasha again? I wanted to know more about his story, about Kikyou's story. I was pulled in before I even had a chance to put up a fight.

"You know," he suddenly spoke again. "She never did say that she loved me."

I asked one more question, "Did _you_?"

Inuyasha was silent again.

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END CHAPTER TWO

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**Notes:** Thank you to those of you who have reviewed/subscribed/PMed/shown your support for this little story! I'm actually quite surprised at the turn out. I didn't think I would receive so many notifications in the first few days of posting. Haha, I know it may not seem like a lot, but for my first story I think so. Anyway, please continue to comment and submit constructive criticism or just anything you found interesting. Once again, thank you so much!

P.S. Since it's **Christmas**, I posted a double-update. Click that little next button!


	4. Chapter III

The Hanyou Prince

Chapter III

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Sooner or later, Inuyasha began opening up about why he was here and what happened when he left Kikyou behind. Apparently, he had fallen in love with her at first sight (he didn't say these words exactly, but from what he told me, I think it happened this way). In fact, he even agreed that he would stay at the village and assist her when he needed her to—even when the villagers were absolutely horrible to him. Poor Inuyasha sucked it up, just to be with the woman he loved.

Kikyou had an enormous responsibility at her young age. She was in charge of an entire village at the mere age of seventeen. Other girls were out buying pretty clothes and going to parties and falling in love... but she did not have those privileges. When she met Inuyasha, she began smiling more and looked happier but began to stray from her duties as priestess. The villagers were angry at Inuyasha for changing her, for taking her away.

Inuyasha had suggested that they run away, so that they could be together forever. They could live their days happily without disturbance from others. Most of all, she could finally be an ordinary woman. She could finally be free. They could leave the priestess job to her younger sister, Kaede. It would have been selfish of them, but it was a relatively good decision for all of them. They would be _happy_.

But Kikyou said no.

"You must understand. I cannot turn my back on these people. When my parents died, these villagers practically raised Kaede and me. It would be like betraying my family, betraying my own blood!"

It was only two days after he had suggested eloping that he told her he was leaving.

He told her that if she wanted to come with him, he would wait by the sacred tree in the middle of the forest until midnight. If she was not there by then, he would leave. "I don't belong in this village. If I stay any longer, that might even put you—their lovely priestess—in danger." He hoped that she would tell him any of three things: he shouldn't leave and she would find a way to make life easier for him there at the village; that she would agree to leave the village and she would meet him at midnight; or that, at least, she loved him.

Inuyasha didn't get to hear any of those words. I looked up and glanced at his silhouette, which I could barely make out in the darkness. I wanted to say something—anything—to soothe his pain. However, I felt like nothing would suffice; I was five hundred years too late. "So you see," he said, "Kikyou and I weren't in love." But I didn't understand. "I loved _her_. And when it was time for me to go, she just turned around and walked away."

"You can't honestly believe—"

"Kikyou didn't love me at all."

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END CHAPTER THREE

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**Notes:** MERRY CHRISTMAS, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, and SEASONS GREETINGS! Have a safe and wonderful holiday season.


	5. Chapter IV

The Hanyou Prince

Chapter IV

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As minutes turned into hours, I began to realize what kind of a person Inuyasha was.

He was kind of rude, short-tempered, and sometimes he was just a pain in my behind. However, at the same time, he was kind, understanding, and more of a man than anyone I would ever meet. He told me wonderful stories, ones that could trump even my father's. Inuyasha told me of the journeys he embarked on once he left Kikyou's village. The first person he met after leaving was a monk by the name of Miroku. For some reason, as the monk's name was mentioned, Inuyasha smiled for the first time.

"I will only say this once so listen carefully." I remember him saying, casting me a careful look. "Miroku...well, he may have been an idiot and a womanizer and everything that I wasn't. But he was my only friend. My best friend." It was nice to see Inuyasha speak of someone so fondly, especially after telling me his tragic memories surrounding Kikyou. "I knew Miroku for as long as he lived. It was fun to see him turn into an old man." Although he said this, his formerly serene expression darkened at the mentioning of the death of the monk.

The calm before the storm.

I hoped that I never had to meet someone I truly cared about, only to watch them die. I didn't even want to imagine what that was like, but the thing about Inuyasha was that it felt like he wasn't telling his story. It was like he was telling _our_ story. For some reason, I felt like I knew Miroku myself. It felt like he was my friend, like we had gone on endless adventures altogether. And so as silence fell upon us, I found it hard to breathe. My heart was tight in my chest, and the sting of tears suddenly caught my attention.

And before I could stop myself, I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. I began to grieve for Inuyasha's isolation, his lost love, his destiny to spend his life alone. I thought about what it was like for him to die, knowing that all of his loved ones were already gone. At that point, did he believe in the gates of Heaven, where the people he once loved were all waiting? Or had the tragedies he had seen crush all hopes of the mere idea that he would see any of them again? I cried for the loneliness he must have felt, I cried for the heartbreak he experienced.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him, not even sure if he was paying attention to me at all. "I'm so sorry."

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END CHAPTER FOUR

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**Author's Notes:** Ugh! It's been such a long time since I've updated anything and I apologize for that. I'm currently working on some new stories, but I keep running into writer's block. And I know that this story may not seem like it's going anywhere but I promise it's going to get better! Thanks to everyone who has been patient, I really appreciate it.


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